How much oil and gas?
In 2010, the US Geological Survey estimated large undiscovered oil and gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean region. The area in question, the Levant Basin Province delineated by Turkey in the North and Egypt in the South, may hold a mean of 1.7 billion barrels of oil and a mean of 122 trillion cubic feet of gas, both recoverable.
What’s in it for Lebanon?
Lebanon’s geographical position will turn out advantageous since the geological survey implies that Lebanon may have oil and gas as well. Revenues from oil and gas can potentially spur Lebanon’s economic growth which has been chained within the range of 1% and 2% since 2011 on account of spillovers from the Syrian crisis and the local political deadlock. Judicially exploiting oil and gas reserves can also help Lebanon invest in its chronically weak infrastructure and put its debt on a more sustainable path. The oil and gas industry also has the potential to create jobs Lebanon desperately needs; According to the World Bank, 1 out of 3 youth is unemployed in Lebanon and the country would need to create 23,000 jobs per year in order to meet the demand of job seekers.
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